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I was confused, somewhat mad, but mostly intrigued in finding out more about everything Mama hid from us.

“It’s none of my business anymore though. Fen’s old enough to know when he needs help, and so are you. You’ve never had any issues growing up. At least none that I know of.”

“I never had issues,” I assured him.

“That’s good. And I know if you ever have any, you’d ask for help. You’re just like me. You’re self-aware, confident, but you’re never too proud to ask for support. You’re strong. Stay that way.”

I nodded and smiled, making sure his words were burned into my brain.

“Papa?”

“Yes?”

“What are your dreams like? I mean…do they ever feel as if you’re living instead of dreaming them?”

“What, like vivid dreams?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

He shrugged. “I had some dreams I remembered vividly when I woke up the next morning. That’s most likely just your brain bringing up memories and therefore you feel as if you’re living them.”

I puckered my lips and looked back up at him. “So nothing to be worried about?”

“Of course not, sweetheart.”

That’s good to know, but that doesn’t help me remember if those dreams I had about Fennec were real or not.

*

We made our way back to camp with ten fish in total.

I was excited to show Fennec the big one I caught, and I was sure he would be proud of me for doing it all on my own.

Fishing was an activity I loved doing most out here in the wilderness, although hunting was fun too.

Whatever I did, I learned new techniques and it only helped me in case I would have to go out there on my own someday.

“Hungry?” Papa asked, laughing as he watched me grin at the bucket I was carrying back to camp.

“Very hungry. And excited. I can’t wait to show Fennec what we caught,” I told him.

We continued to walk, and when we were only a few minutes away from camp, Papa grabbed my wrist and stopped me, making me turn to look at him.

“What?”

“Really don’t wanna upset you, but that’s fucked up,” he growled, his mood suddenly changing.

I frowned, thinking he had found out about Fennec and me.

No…how could he know? And why didn’t he say something earlier? Things were going great up until this moment.

“What is?” I asked, getting ready to defend myself from whatever he was going to say next.

He didn’t speak though.

Instead, he nodded upward, pointing his finger at what he was seeing.

With my frown deepening, I turned my head to look up, and when I realized what he was pointing at, I gasped and covered my mouth with one hand.

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